By Julie Hutson
Guest Writer

Staff Sgt. Randall Austin did not plan on serving two combat tours when he enlisted in the Army, but when duty called he proudly stepped onto hostile Iraqi soil, leaving behind luxuries most have at their disposal.

Austin's day began at 6 a.m. when he awoke the nine soldiers under his leadership to get ready for physical training. After running several miles and exercising, they walked to the cafeteria with helmets on their heads and guns at their sides to eat breakfast. Afterwards, he had to prepare to go outside the walls of the firebase and complete a mission. Missions varied from day to day.

"Sometimes we only patrol. The bigger missions are raids where there are high value targets to capture. One time, I had to go to a mosque, record what was supposed to be a sermon, take that to a translator and take the information the translator gave me to brief the commander. That was exciting," Austin said.

After a mission, he returned to eat dinner and make telephone calls. Telephones can be used daily, but soldiers have to buy calling cards to pay for them.

"$40 to talk for an hour" Austin said. "When you want to hear a loved one's voice after a long day, you'd pay anything."

Sometimes the day ended there with a shower; other times he continued on to another mission that lasted throughout the night.

It’s the little things about home he missed the most. But in the end, he said it was worth it.

"Yeah, I miss taking showers in hot water, spending time with friends, going out on Friday night, drinking Dr. Pepper and listening to the radio. But that’s why I am here, so that everyone back home has the freedom to do those things safely. And so when I get back home, I can do it too," Austin said.